


Phobia

by danbaihe



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Assassination, Assassination Attempt(s), Assassins & Hitmen, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bang Chan is Bad at Feelings, Bang Chan is a Father, Bang Chan is a Panicked Gay, Bang Chan is a Single Dad, Bang Chan-centric, Blood and Violence, Changbin is Like an Uncle, Crime Scenes, Detective!Chan, Detective!Changbin, Detectives, Hitman!Felix, Hitman!Hyunjin, Hitman!Minho, Jeongin is a Gang Leader, Jisung is Chan's Son, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Officer!Chan, Organized Crime, Rich Lee Minho | Lee Know, Single Parents, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29838357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danbaihe/pseuds/danbaihe
Summary: Chan is a single father, one of the best detectives in his field, and is alsomiserableat making any attempt of a love life. The first hook-up he has in a couple of years leads to an interesting relationship with a catlike contract-killer... one that has him bouncing between both sides of the law.Playlist:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2NwqNpb99yfLNc6BGUkijf?si=nelUR__oS0aAFqw3Y3PXTA
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, Lee Felix/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	1. I slept with a contract killer?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [megaotaku98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/megaotaku98/gifts).



> can you tell that this is slightly inspired by izombie and killing eve? lmao. I almost made Hyunjin an officer with the ability of premonition.

When Chan opens his eyes, the first thing he notices is that the ceiling is not his ceiling. Why? It’s clean.  _ Nice. _ Absolutely one of the nicest ceilings Chan has ever seen outside of his work.

He gets up slowly, groaning. He’s sore. And he can feel his sweat plastered to his skin, like a thin layer of gross. Holy shit, these are nice bedsheets. These are really nice bed sheets-

“Finally, he rises.” A voice teases. Chan whips his head around to see a man leaning against the doorway. He had catlike features and was...naked. Wild.

“Fuck.” Chan mutters, closing his eyes and rubbing them. “What time is it?” He asked.

“Nine.” The man responded. Chan groaned. “I’m late for work.” He said.

“Ah, my bad. I thought I should let you sleep in a little more. I even made breakfast, you know, one night stands don’t seem to be your thing.” The man said, walking over to his dresser drawer and taking out a pair of boxers and pants.

“They...you made breakfast?” Chan asked, forcing himself to get out of bed.

“Yes. I. Made. Breakfast.” The man says again, chuckling at the other’s reaction. “Eggs, pancakes, and yogurt with honey. And a cup of coffee.”

“Oh.” Chan exhaled as he fell back on the bed. “I love coffee.”

“I know, you told me about it last night.” 

“I did?”

A sigh. “After you eat, you can take a shower here. If you need clothes, there are some in my wardrobe. I don’t need them back.” He paused. “But if you’d like to give them back...I wouldn’t mind that either.” He started blatantly checking out Chan, to which Chan awkwardly nodded, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. He wasn’t awake enough to deal with anyone flirting with him, but especially not someone who’s handsome. Also, he’s out of practice. If he remembers the events of last night correctly, this would be the first time he slept with anyone in...almost two years. Jesus. 

“Coffee.” Chan responded, nodding. “Then maybe I’ll...yeah. Yeah.” The man chuckled at Chan’s stuttering, nodding. “Yeah.” He responded, walking out of the room as if there was a tail swinging between his legs. He was amused to say the least.

Time for Chan to eat that breakfast.

He decided to just use the sheets to cover himself, wrapping them around his waist slowly. He shuffled down the hall, clearing his throat awkwardly as he sat down at the table. There was already a plate set out for him, with yogurt, eggs, and pancakes all on it. And...a nice cup of coffee.

Wonderful. He started digging in immediately, scarfing down the eggs in an instant. The man from earlier wasn’t in his sight, but he still felt like he was being watched. Weird.

He looked up from his plate of pancakes only to jump in shock. Someone new was watching him now, from the hallway.

“Who?” He asked simply, tilting his head as he looked at Chan. He was tall, with long black hair.

“Uh. what?” Chan asked, dropping the utensils and instinctively using the sheets to cover himself up.

“Who?” The stranger repeated. “No one in this house makes breakfast for one night stands.”

“You live together? And regularly bring people home?” Chan asked, confused. “That’s weird.”

“It’s weird?”

“I mean, isn’t it loud? And distracting?” Chan asked. “My roommates don’t.”

“Get better roommates.”

“I have a son.” Chan responded.

“And roommates?” The man raised his eyebrows.

Chan slowly turned back to the pancakes on the table. He looked up again nervously, unsure if the man was going to stop watching him any time soon. He didn’t, of course.

“Hyunjin, don’t you have somewhere to be?” The man from earlier asked, checking his watch, unamused by his roommate’s actions.

“Ah, fuck, you’re no fun. You made him breakfast though?” The tall- no, Hyunjin spoke, walking towards the kitchen. He picked up a pot of coffee (Chan assumes the one to make his own cup of coffee), pouring it into a thermos.

“Yes, Hyunjin, I made him breakfast.” The other sounded exasperated as he checked his phone.

“You don’t make me breakfast.” Hyunjin said with a pout as he bit down on a croissant, chewing it slowly. “In fact, last time I checked, you don’t make  _ breakfast. _ That’s all Felix-”

“Hyunjin.” He said, warning. Chan looked back and forth as they talked, before eventually looking at Hyunjin, anticipating what would happen next.

“Fine.” Hyunjin said, eating the rest of the croissant. He looks back at Chan and, after swallowing, stuck out his tongue. Chan looked mildly offended, but only responded by sticking his tongue out back. As you do when you have been threatened at the breakfast table.

“Bye Minho.”

Aha! A name!

“Bye. Text me after you finish, we’re all meeting for lunch, remember?”

“God, you sound like my mom.”

There’s a few moments of shuffling and then a slam. Sounds like the front door.

“So...roommates, huh?” Chan says awkwardly. Minho laughed as he sat down across from him. “Do you have any?” He asks.

“Hm?” Chan was halfway through a pancake, he paused and looked up. Oh, conversation. So we’re doing that then. He finished what he could of the pancake, nodding. “Yes. And a son. But I have a roommate as well.”

“Oh, a son?” Minho asked.

“Yes, a son.” Chan responded.

“Isn’t living with a roommate and son kind of weird?” Minho asked.

“Not when your son is 16 and you’ve known your roommate since you were in highschool.” Chan said with a chuckle.

“Ah, I see.” Minho said. “He’s more like family, isn’t he?”

“Something like that.” Chan says. He finishes his pancake. “Are your roommates like that? Like...family to you?” He then asks.

“Something like that.” Minho responded, watching him fondly. Weird.

“So…” Chan starts, unsure of where he should go with this conversation. 

“So.” Minho said, raising his eyebrows. “How’s breakfast?” He asked.

“It’s good. Really good. I like it. Thank you.” Chan said, raising the mug of coffee and smiling.

“That’s good.” Minho said. “I like that you like it.”

“Hm.” Chan took a few sips of his coffee. “Hyunjin said you don’t make breakfast.”   
  
“Did he, now?”   
  
“He did.”

“I make breakfast for people I like.” Minho answered easily. Chan cleared his throat, looking at the almost empty plate.

“Well, that’s very nice of-”

“I’d like to see you again Chan.” Minho said abruptly. 

“Okay.” Chan said, slowly looking around. Minho looked like he was one sappy comment from grabbing his arm. Chan barely  _ knew _ him. But Chan is also really good at ignoring red flags.

“Even with the son?” He asked.

“Why? Is your son annoying?” Minho asked, raising an eyebrow. Chan snorted at that. “He, he can be at times, but so can I. I just meant…” Chan broke into a small laughter, still surprised at the comment. “No, no, no. I just meant...you know. People don’t usually like the son bit. You know. Single. Son. Old. Not very appealing.”

“Well, how old are you?”

“44.”

“I hardly think your early forties are old, Chan.”

“How old are you?”   
  


“43.”

“Touche.”

There’s a pause as they stare at each other, Chan clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Do you have a pen?” Chan asked.

“A pen?” Minho questioned.

“For me to write down my number.” He said. Minho slowly broke into a smile, taking his phone out of his suit pocket. He opened up the contacts app and slid his phone towards Chan. Chan filled out his contact information easily, sliding it back.

“I’ll text you.”

“Of course.” Chan responded, slowly getting up, gathering the sheets at his legs. “I think…” He said slowly, awkwardly covering himself. “That I’ll...return your sheets. Take that shower now.”

“Sure. I probably won’t be here since I have to go to work, and my other roommate is asleep. You can leave the door unlocked when you leave, it automatically locks.” Minho said, getting up.

“Alright.” Chan says awkwardly. “Uh. Thanks. For breakfast.”

“There might be more breakfasts to look forward to in the near future.” Minho said with a small smile, grabbing his bag and phone.

“Oh...nice.” Chan said. “Bye. Have a...have a good day at work.” It felt wrong when he said it. Mildly. He barely knew this dude, and yet, Minho now had his number, made him breakfast, and trusted him alone in his apartment. Did he not usually have one night stands? No, that contradicts what Hyunjin says earlier. Hyunjin also said Minho never made breakfast, so what, was Chan  _ special _ or something? He laughed a little to himself at the thought. Maybe hook-up etiquette changed. Chan hasn’t been particularly...active after all.

He was now alone. He should use that time to shower and dress. He started back towards Minho’s room, stopped briefly by two cats having decided to lay in the middle of the hallway, one staring at him. Instinctively, he covered his dick. Just in case, you know, he doesn’t want the cat to have that image burned in it’s memory forever. The cats didn’t seem like they were going to move much, so Chan quietly tiptoed over them before heading to the bedroom. His phone was ringing. Oops. He picked it up, answering.

“Hello?”

“Chan, where the hell are you? You’re late to work and I ended up having to pick up the Kim’s call-”

“Yeah, Changbin, can I call you back? I-”

“No! Where are you?”

“Well, if you had let me finish that sentence…” Chan looked out the window. Yeah, he has no idea.

“I’m working on that. I...was too drunk to remember where I was last night. So can I please call you back?” Chan asked, not giving the other time to respond. “Yeah, okay, thank you Binnie. Please pick up a coffee for me. Bye.” Chan hung up without another word. Changbin and Jisung were gonna kill him when he came into work today. Fuck. No, his  _ boss _ was going to kill him. Chan wasn’t typically late. Like, ever.

Oh well. There’s a first time for everything.

He walked into the bathroom, going to turn on the shower. There were clothes on the counter. And a note.

_ ‘I know I said my wardrobe is open to you, and it still is if you don’t like these, but this is most likely what will fit you the best. Also, it’s the cutest.’ _

Okay, what the fuck? Did Chan accidentally score a sugar daddy or something? The suit was nice but it was also definitely expensive. And the blouse paired with it…

...yikes. Okay, he should just shower. Wear the nice suit. Text Minho back if Minho texts him. Sounds like a plan. Oh, work! Work should be somewhere in there. Okay, now that he has a plan. 

  
  
  


Coming into work was weird. Coming into work late, with a massive hangover was even weirder. Chan’s headache came back full force, and so caused him to pair some sunglasses with the already ridiculously out of place suit. Not only out of place because it was expensive, but because Chan would never in his life wear a pale blue blouse underneath a plaid suit. It was cute, all things considered, but not Chan’s style at all.

“I can’t believe I was worried about you and you were just out last night.” Were Changbin’s first words upon laying eyes on Chan, scoffing slightly. “What’s with the suit? I’ve never seen you wear that before. Like, ever.” 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Chan said, sitting down at his desk. There was a coffee cup already there. He looked up to Changbin. “Thank you. Now please stop staring at me like I just came down from mars or something.”

“You… oh my god. Chan, do you have a sugar daddy?” Changbin asked, eyes wide.

“No!” Chan immediately denied, groaning. 

“Sugar Mommy?”

“Dear god, no. I’m just borrowing this, okay? I didn’t have any clean clothes.” Chan responded, booting up his computer.

“Damn, a sugar mommy could do you and Jisung good. Get her to pay for family trips. Wait, wait, clean clothes after what?” Changbin asked, rolling his eyes. “Don’t tell me you had a one-night stand or something.”

“You believe I got a sugar daddy before I had a one-night stand?” Chan asked, looking to Changbin, confused.

“Chan, you’re attractive. And also stupid, in an endearing way.” Changbin responded. Chan only sighed. “I take mild offense to that. I just don’t get flirting cues all the time. There’s a difference.” He said, Changbin, about to reply when their conversation was interrupted.

“Chan.” A female voice greeted.

Ah, fuck.

“Hi Chief Lee.” He said, ducking his head slightly.

“You better have a good excuse for coming in late, wearing sunglasses, and breaking dress code.” The woman said, smiling, but unamused by the man’s appearance.

“Uhm…” Chan shook his head slightly, trying to come up with anything. “I don’t. I’m sorry. I- yesterday, there will never  _ ever _ be a repeat of-”

“Hm. Well, you missed the briefing. And considering you’re assigned to a case, I suggest Changbin fill you in and you both get on it. Immediately.” She didn’t wait for Chan to try and finish his sentence.

“Of course. Thank you Chief Lee! Sorry Sunmi.” Chan responded, bowing his head as the other already started to walk away. Chan groaned and took off his sunglasses, holding the bridge of his nose. “Dear god.” He groaned.

“C’mon.” Changbin said, giving his friend a sympathetic pat on the back. “I’ll give you ten minutes to get it together, but then I need to fill you in, okay?” Changbin sighed slightly.

“Sounds great.” Chan muttered, sighing. “Wake me up in ten minutes please.”

“Actually…” A new voice. Chan groaned. “No, please, no.”

“There’s been a possible murder. Related to this morning’s briefing. Chief Lee just asked me to get you so that we could check it out.”

“It has been five seconds, why could she just not tell us herself?”

“She got the call mid conversation with me.”

Chan groaned again, quickly getting up from his desk, snatching up the sunglasses. And his Jacket. Yugyeom was standing directly over his and Changbin’s desks.

“Nice suit, Bang.” He said with a grin.

Chan gave a grimace in response. “Let’s just go.” He said, sighing.

  
  
  


“A murder.”

A flash.

Bright Yellow tape.

“Yeah, that’s...the department we work in. Murder.”

“Well, I mean yes, but, does this honestly look like a murder to you?”

“Okay, Yugyeom’s earlier words, his  _ key _ words, ‘ _ suspected _ .’ Some murders are made to look accidental.”

The house was old. Had random objects piling over years of neglect and the owner’s inability to keep her personal belongings clean. Or organized. Changbin grimaced as he stood up, looking around. “Well...does she have a name?” He asked, looking back to Chan, who had a notepad full of his awful handwriting.

“Wang Fei Fei. 33 years old and an actress, but also does work as a dancer.”

“So an entertainer then. Why has she been dead for at least a week?” Yugyeom, the team’s forensic investigator. He looked up at Changbin and Chan, wrinkling his nose at the smell. His hands were appropriately gloved for inspecting the body, but were held up in the air, like he didn’t really want to touch her. It made sense- the smell alone was nauseating.

“She had cut off contact with her agent a couple of days before. According to him, they got into an argument when she didn’t want to sign a commercial deal with...a yogurt company. Said she was done with her job, fired him, and then left.” Chan said, grimacing as he looked at the corpse of the woman that was splayed across her couch almost carelessly, wine glass rolled to the edge like it could fall at any moment, despite probably having been there for at least a week. The wine itself stained both the sofa and floor. There was no way that was getting out any time soon.

“What about the neighbors?” Changbin asked, looking at Chan. 

Chan shrugged as he sighed, looking at the woman. “She’s...got no one in the area. Asked around and all the neighbors said they didn’t know her well. She wasn’t stuck up or rude, just...virtually invisible to the people living in her apartment complex. Her right side neighbors tried to hold a conversation with her once, and said it was awkward. She’s pretty despondent, and that’s the only time they ever talked to her.”

“How did they notice that she was dead, then?”

“Ritualistic habits, and the smell. She played music or a tv show almost every night. It wasn’t loud, but neighbors could hear whatever she was playing or watching through the walls. Said it was weird when they didn’t hear anything for days…also…” Chan sighed, looking around the apartment. “...the smell.” He repeated, making the same face as Yugyeom.

“What about those cakes on the table?”

“Stale. So is the takeout food. Untouched though.” Chan crouched down next to Changbin looking at the way the woman was twisted on the couch. He frowned.

“Wait, why would she have cakes?” Yugyeom questioned out loud.

“What?” Changbin asked, turning to Yugyeom.

“I mean, she’s a dancer and actress. I’m sure she doesn’t eat much junk food. Especially not four small red velvet and chocolate cakes.” Yugyeom pointed out. “I worked in the entertainment industry as a teen. The best way to lose weight is to watch what you eat. The best way to watch what you eat is to get rid of all junk food that might tempt you.” He explained. Changbin opened his mouth to respond before realizing something, getting up and walking to the kitchen, looking at the fridge.

“Yeah. Yugyeom’s right. She has diets tapped to her fridge.” Changbin called out, going to open the fridge door, stepping on something that moved. He looked down, confused to feel the movement, only to see a small scale in front of the fridge.

“And a scale. Did she order the cakes? Or the takeout?” Changbin asked, confused.

“Maybe she was binge eating.” Chan said, looking at the contents on the counter.

“I don’t think she would even touch the food, honestly. Did she order any of it?” Changbin asked again, sighing.

“We have people working on going through her phone right now, so we’ll know in an hour or two. Why do you say that?”

“Her fridge.” Changbin said as he looked through the contents of the now rotting food. “A few meats. No dairy. No juice or anything like that. A lot of fruit, and vegetables.”

“So she’s healthy.” Chan said with a shrug. “Too healthy for takeout and chocolate cake.” Changbin responded, opening the pantry. It was almost bare, but what was there were things like oatmeal, or crackers. Fiber bars. Protein shakes.

“But apparently alcohol seems to be the thing she allows into her system.” Chan said, pointing to a counter. Changbin looked to where the other was pointing, seeing multiple empty bottles.

“An alcoholic.” He said.

“With disordered eating patterns.”

“Seems about as on brand as you can get for anyone in the entertainment industry.”

“Why is this ruled as a murder again? What about alcohol poisoning? Or maybe a food allergy?”

“Both are being tested! But neither would explain the bruises on her arms and legs, or the head trauma.” Yugyeom responded, a little too cheerfully. “Also...the call.” He said.

“Call?” Changbin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“One of the people from her dance crew that didn’t completely forget about her called. The first call she had gotten in a couple of days. She sounded winded, like she was having trouble breathing, and it ended when there was a knock on her door.” Chan said. “Assumed she was sick and that that was it.”

“Could be an airborne allergy.” Changbin said.

“Could be.” Chan watched Changbin closely. “What are you thinking?”

“I think that we need to figure out who delivered her food.” Changbin said, sighing. “If she was the one who ordered it.”

“Okay, and while we’re on it, we should interview anyone from her dance crew who might’ve known her or talked to her beforehand. Any information we can get would be helpful. Maybe the dance team was competitive.” Chan said, his phone buzzing. He pulled it out to see it was a text from an unknown number.

_ XXX-XXX-XXXX: Is this Chan? _

_ The one and only! _

_ XXX-XXX-XXXX: It’s Minho. Are you free for dinner? _

_ I could work something out. _

_ XXX-XXX-XXXX: Perfect. Meet me at the Bicena. 6:30 pm. _

_ The Lotte World Restaurant??? _

_ You have changed this contact to ‘Minho’ _

_ Minho: Is there another Bicena in Seoul? _

_ Jesus. _

_ Okay. _

_ Bicena it is then. _

_ Minho: lol. cute. _

_ Minho: I’ll see you then yeah? A proper date. _

_ See you then! _

  
  
  


Chan wished that he could work in the entertainment industry. The job was taxing, sure, but Chan used to dance and took music classes in both highschool and college. If he was 20 years younger...who knew. Maybe he’d be working at a dance studio like the one he and Changbin just entered. Their presence seemed to not affect the dancers at all, music blasting while roughly a dozen were focused on the routine, either looking at the mirror or the floor.

Chan made his way to the counter, flashing his badge easily. The woman looking at him seemed startled. “Uh...what do you need officers? Has something happened?”

“We’re here to interrogate a few people concerning the death of Wang Feifei.”

“Feifei’s dead?” A woman asked from behind them. The music had stopped.

“Yes, one of yours was interviewed a little earlier. A...Mong Ji-ah had called her a little time before she was murdered?” Changbin spoke, turning around.

“Meng. Meng Jia.” Someone corrected him. A Male. “Meng Jia hasn’t shown up in a week. She missed rehearsal for a performance. And then...the performance. We had to redo formations.”

“Has anyone here contacted Meng Jia within the last two weeks?” Chan asked, and after watching everyone turn to each other and shake their heads, he concluded no, they had not.

“Alright, well, please resume your class. We only need dance instructors and the receptionist right now. Sorry to bother you.” Chan said, bowing his head slightly. Changbin was already talking to the receptionist, so Chan decided to wait patiently before talking to anyone else.

“Alright, thank you. Please call this number if you remember anything else, or if anything else turns up for you.” Changbin finished, bowing slightly before returning to Chan. “There are 12 instructors, we wouldn’t be able to interview them here. We’ll have to arrange times for them to come into the station. There’s no way we can interview them all at once otherwise.”

“Okay, let’s-” Chan was interrupted by his phone ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

“Shoot, I have to take this, I’m sorry. It’s Jisung’s school.” He said, stepping back.

“Dude, better you than me.” Changbin said. “Did you forget I’m his emergency contact?”

Chan and Changbin shared a knowing glance before Chan stepped back to take the call.

“Hello? Detective Bang, who’s this?” He answered.

“This is Myungduk Foreign Language Highschool, I’m calling concerning a Bang Jisung? Is this Bang Christopher Chan?”

“Yes, this is he. Just Chan is fine.”

“Mr. Bang, your son is currently in the school’s nurses office. He’s refusing to talk to anyone but there was an incident in class concerning him and a few other students. He doesn’t want to go back to class, so, the next course of action was to call a parent to pick him up.”

“He- wait, what? What incident?”

“I’m not sure Mr. Bang, I’m calling from the nurses office.”

“You-” Chan sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at the conversation. “Alright, thank you, I’m on my way.” The line hung up after that, and Chan sighed before sliding his phone back into his pocket.

He made his way back to Changbin, whispering in his ear. “Get their names, make appointments with them to interview tomorrow. I need to get to Jisung’s school so we have a few minutes, okay?”

“Is everything good?” Changbin asked, concerned. 

“I’ll tell you in the car.” Chan says.

  
  
  


Velvet blazer? Or green silk shirt? Velvet blazer? Or...green silk shirt?

A sigh.

“Green silk shirt.” 

Minho turns around to see Hyunjin standing in the doorway.

“How long have you been standing there?” Minho asked, tilting his head.

“Long enough. What’s this… _ ’special person’ _ for this time?” Hyunjin asked, walking into the room slowly.

“Whatever do you mean?” Minho asked, feigning innocence as he threw both tops onto his bed.

“No one in this house makes breakfast for one night stands.” Hyunjin mocked himself, using a high-pitch voice and perfect korean accent to mimic himself. He then had a slight French accent as he spoke. More relaxed. 

“Your scripts are pitiful.” He said, scoffing as he leaned against the bedpost.

“And yet you indulge me anyways.” Minho said, sighing.

“Hm. I do. Your paycheck is slightly larger than mine.” Hyunjin said, rolling his eyes and looking around the other’s room. “So…” Hyunjin trails off, watching Minho get dressed. “He has a  _ son _ .”

“Yes, yes he does.”

“What, are you playing father now?” Hyunjin asked, falling back on the other’s bed. “Mmm...nice bed covers.”

“No. Well, maybe, if it goes that far. He’s a detective. And multiple government operations all have their eye on him. He’s that good.” Minho said, smiling slightly. “Ohh...international ones?”

“Yes.”

“So why do  _ you _ want him?” Hyunjin asked, watching Minho as he did the last few buttons of his shirt.

“I don’t care about him.” Minho said, getting dressed. “I want to have fun. Plus, it could help me. You know, keep track of it all. See what I do wrong. Improve.”

“You’re the best the agency has, you don’t need to improve.” Hyunjin said with a sigh, closing his eyes.

“Don’t fall asleep in the bed.” Minho said, throwing the blazer he decided not to wear on the other’s face.

“Hmmm… but it’s so comfy. Why wouldn’t I?” Hyunjin asked, grabbing the blazer. He was teasing, obviously. He giggled a little. “What time is your date?”

“6:30. The Bicena.”

“Oooh, fancy.”

“Fancy like today’s job?”

“It was boring.”

“It’s not supposed to be particularly exciting.”

“Yes, but natural causes make me bored to death. I hate making things seem like natural causes.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I hate those too.” Minho looked down at the top of the dresser, sighing. Of course, a politician would not have makeup. Not the type that Minho needs, anyways.

“Have fun on your date.” 

“I will. Maybe I will make breakfast for him again.” Minho said with a small sigh, moving across the room to put on dress shoes. Hmm...he had a good collection to choose from. “Do I need a weapon? I don’t think I need a weapon.”

“Gun in the glove compartment can’t hurt.” Hyunjin said with a shrug.

“No...that’s too far. I always have one in there anyways.” Minho said, sighing. “Maybe I’ll just have a pocket knife for good luck?”

“You can’t go wrong with the necklace I gave you.” Hyunjin said, watching the other move around the room.

“The necklace?” Minho looked back, pausing.

“The cross. You didn’t think I’d give you a religious necklace for no reason did I?” Hyunjin asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Minho, you’re Russian.”

“Huh. That’s smart.” Minho fished in his pants pocket for the said necklace, hand emerging victoriously with the necklace. It was a silver chain with a cross. Simple. “Does it click?” He asked, examining it.

“Twists.” Hyunjin responds, yawning slightly. Minho put on the necklace, glancing at the mirror to see how it looked with the blouse. He sighed, grabbing his black shirt instead. 

“Blazer.” Minho said to Hyunjin, the other throwing it at Minho. Minho caught it easily and took off the green shirt, sliding on the black shirt instead. Then the blazer over that. “I look better in purple anyways.” He said, sighing.

“That, you do.” Hyunjin said, chuckling.

“Hmm. Should I pick him up a present? There’s a Givenchy store nearby...maybe I could get him something good?”

“Givenchy?” Hyunjin asked. “French, huh?”

“He’d look good in French.” Minho said. “He could be a model. He’s fit.” He started to pack up, throwing the remaining clothes into a suitcase.

“Mmm...I bet.” Hyunjin sighed. “You’re keeping the suitcase?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I like the suitcase. Maybe I could put stickers on it.” Minho said, closing it and zipping it up. “Let’s go. Cleaners coming?” He asked.

“Cleaners are coming.” Hyunjin confirmed. “We should get going. They hate it when we’re still here.”

“So we should. Lunch was fun, we should do it again.” Minho said, picking up the suitcase. Hyunjin jumped up off the bed. ‘Lunch was fun. I enjoyed it.” He chuckled. “Such a shame Felix couldn’t join this time.”

“Yes, a shame.” Minho said, stepping over an arm and a puddle of blood on the floor. “You should see the bathroom.” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow.

Slowly, the two made their way out of the hotel room, stepping over puddles of blood or knocked over glasses and alcohol like a couple of germaphobes on a train. “Such a shame.” Hyunjin looked at the puddle of whiskey on the floor dejectedly. “I liked that one. It tasted good.”

“Politicians have great taste. But horrible security.” Minho said. He looked at the whiskey and sighed. “I think I have a bottle of that somewhere. I’ll treat you when we get home.”

“Ooh, already cheating on your detective? How cruel.” Hyunjin teased.

“Cruel Indeed.” Minho responded with a laugh.


	2. Oh my my my

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaebum paused again, looking up. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, holding the bridge of his nose. “Lee Minho, what the actual hell did you do?”
> 
> “Nothing! ...Yet. Probably nothing in the future. I don’t know about that one yet.” Minho said, chewing his lip slightly. “Just, you know...he may or may not be...a detective.”
> 
> “A...detective?”
> 
> “Yes. And then I looked him up after he gave me his number, and he lives with his partner-”
> 
> “I don’t think that’s the problem here-”
> 
> “I’ll be fine.” Minho said, voice suddenly dropping into hushed whispers. “I know what I’m doing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i almost missed deadline after loosing half the chapter

Jisung hated the nurse's office. It was unbearably quiet but he couldn't play any music because his school didn't allow electronics. His iPod was in the glove compartment of his dad's car. He glanced at the nurse slightly, annoyed by her loud typing. She looked at him and he averted his eyes to the ground. There was a moment of silence before she started to type again. Jesus Christ.

The door then was flying open. Ah, fuck. That's definitely his dad. And his uncle. Jisung turned his head the other way, before turning back. "Is that a blouse?" He asked out loud, Chan seeing his face and gasping. "Are those bruises? What the hell?" 

"Language." Jisung jokes, but it hurts to move his face. There were bruises. His eye and lip both really hurt.

"No. Because what the hell?" Chan removed Jisung's ice pack gently, examining his bruises. "Who did this?" Chan asked softly, eyebrows furrowed. Jisung didn't respond, frowning and pulling away. "No one." He jokes. "I punched myself in the face."

"Jisung…" Chan sighs, before looking up at Changbin. Changbin seemed pissed and was holding his tongue.

"Why don't you go wait in the car sweetheart?" Chan said to his son, Jisung sliding off of the nurse's bed with ease. Chan handed him his car keys. He watched Jisung grab his bag and ice pack before leaving. Chan watched to make sure she was out of earshot before turning to the nurse.

"What the hell happened to my son!?" He asked, voice quickly growing agitated. The nurse seemed slightly flustered at the sudden personality change. But, well, Chan's son's face was legitimately beaten up. He had a right to be pissed. There were two other students in the office he hadn't noticed before. They looked startled too.

"There was...was an incident in his classroom." The nurse said, looking nervous. She glanced at Changbin, who was only staring her down in response.

"Okay, what was the incident?" Chan asked, mildly annoyed that was the only answer she was giving.

"You see...Jisung's Russian class is very rowdy. The kids, they regularly get into small fights over things. From my understanding, a child needed help with the homework, and Jisung was refusing to give it to him. It escalated into a full blown fight, but Jisung didn't hit the other at all-"

"So you're telling me my son got beat up because he didn't want to help with homework?" Chan asked, annoyance and irritation seeping through his tone. 

"Not beat up-"

"No, he just never hit back." Chan said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"It wasn't that he was refusing to help." A girl spoke up. Chan turned around to see a girl on a bed, slowly getting up. "I have to nap here daily." She says. "I'm sick, but, anyways, Jisung and I are from the same class. Junho wasn't asking him for help on his homework." She glanced to the nurse slightly, anxiously chewing her lip.

"It's okay." Chan told her, offering her a smile. "What was he asking for then? Can you tell me?" He asked patiently.

"Junho didn't ask at all. He took Jisung's paper and refused to give it back. Things only escalated because Jisung called him names after Junho had been….hmmm... _ taunting _ ? Yeah,  _ taunting _ him with his school-work." She said, mimicking dangling a paper in front of someone. 

"So." Chan turned back to the school nurse. "You mean to tell me, someone took my son's work without permission, taunted him with it, and then when things got physical, basically beat him up."

"He didn't hit back-"

"Not a surprise considering he might not have had the reaction time to." Chan said, unamused. "How can I speak to the principal?" Chan asked, looking very visibly pissed.

"W-Well…" The nurse stuttered, glancing nervously to her computer screen. "You'd have to make an appointment with the front desk. This is a very big school." She says, not making eye contact. "Thank you." Chan says, but he's still very clearly annoyed.

He turns back to the girl. "What's your name? I didn't catch it."

"I didn't say it." She said with a small smile. "I'm Yuna. I'm in Jisung's Russian class." She then frowned. "Is he okay?" She asked.

"He'll be fine. Thank you for your concern, Yuna." Chan couldn't help but smile. Does this mean after years of his son being lonely he might have a friend? That would be nice. Jisung needs more friends. Oh- he'll ask Jisung about that later. Right now, he's absolutely pissed. He left the nurse's office, Changbin trailing behind him.

"I don't like that nurse at all." Changbin comments, sighing. 

"Me either." Chan agrees, frowning. "I honestly hate this school but it's the only one with the language classes Jisung wants." Chan said, making his way to the front desk. “Yes, hello, who do I talk to about scheduling a meeting with the principal?” Chan asked, tapping the desk lightly.

“Uh, that would be me! How can I help you?” The receptionist woman was kind, smiling at the others.

“I’d like to schedule an appointment please, preferably in the early afternoon or morning?” Chan said, sighing slightly.

A few clicks of a computer filled the silence as she navigated to the school’s calendar. “Does this Friday at 7AM work for you? Right when school starts.” 

“Uh...sorry, one second.” He apologized quickly before turning to Changbin. “Hey, what time do we get into work Friday? It’s 8:30 right?”

“Yeah. We head straight to the station to interview what will hopefully be the second six instructors at that point.”

“Alright, thank you.” He turned back to the woman at the desk. “It’s perfect.”

“Alright, can I have a name?” She asked, typing it in. 

“What?” Chan didn’t hear her clearly.

“A name, sir.” She repeated, chuckling softly.

“Ah, sorry, Uh, Bang Chan. The appointment is concerning my son, Bang Jisung.”

“Right.” After the sound of more keyboard clicks, she smiled at him. “Appointment made. Have a good day sir.”

“You too. Goodbye.” 

Chan was silent as he exited the building.

"Are you gonna talk to him about it?"

"What is there to talk about? Some random kid beat him up. I'm going to get him food of his choosing and ask Seungmin to bring Ryujin over so that the kids can see each other again." Chan said with a sigh, holding the bridge of his nose.

"Aw. It's always nice to see Ryujin." Changbin said as he opened up the back door. He was used to Jisung regularly stealing his seat, and honestly, he loved the kid too much to kick him out of it. Besides, Changbin shouldn't joke much today regardless.

"What about Ryujin?" Jisung asked as his dad and uncle got in the car, already on his iPod with one earphone in.

"We were saying, it might be nice to see her again. And uncle Seungmin maybe?" Chan asked, offering a small smile.

"What about you?" Jisung asked, raising an eyebrow. He then winced at the action, groaning.

"Let me see-"

"No." Jisung slapped his dad's hand away gently. He looked out the window. "It's fine."

"It's not." Changbin challenged him. "Kids are bullying you Jisung. That takes a toll on anyone, and technically, the school can get into legal trouble if they don't handle the situation accordingly."

"Oh, and what, you and dad will sue them?" Jisung asked with a scoff, sighing as he laid back in his seat.

Chan and Changbin briefly glanced at each other, slightly confused. "Yes." They answered in unison. "Definitely." Chan said, looking to his son in confusion.

"There's no doubt about it and no way in hell they're gonna get away with not trying to stop bullying in school. And also victim blaming is just shitty." Changbin reassured Jisung. Jisung looked shocked. "...oh." he said, feeling a little dumb about his original thoughts.

"Jisung…" Chan opened his arms and wrapped Jisung in a tight hug. "There's no way anyone could hurt you and get away with it, okay? I may not be able to shield you from the world, but I'd sure as hell kick it's ass if it hurt you again." He murmured, kissing the top of Jisung's head.

"Daaaaaaad." Jisung whined, squirming. "Can you just get me a sprite at Mcdonald's?" He asked after a moment of silence. Changbin burst out laughing, Jisung grinning as he looked up to his father.

"Oh, I see. Getting beat up for junk food huh?" Chan joked as he started the car, starting towards the nearest McDonald's drive through.

  
  
  


After the day’s… “lunch” with Hyunjin, Minho found Felix texting him asking him to pick up the apartment’s groceries. And of course, as the only person who kept the apartment together, who was Minho to deny? So this led him across 3 different grocery stores (Felix liked western food, and Hyunjin ate anything, but  _ preferred _ French food and Minho’s dishes, causing the other to sometimes spend hours looking for the correct ingredients to make Vareniki), and mostly successful finding what he was looking for.

He had driven home by himself, Hyunjin having to attend to something else after they finished their job. Unfortunately, this left him with a shit ton of grocery bags. Some he feared might fall apart. Oh well. His neighbors might have to hear him angrily yelling through the walls, but it’s not the end of the world if he can’t get them in- ooh, wait.

Minho glanced at the suitcase in the back of his trunk, before looking around. No one was in the parking lot, and he purposely chose a place with no CCTV for him to reside in. He unzipped it quickly, loading some of his groceries into the suitcase before zipping it up again, humming to himself as he took it out carefully, loading the remaining bags on his arms before closing the trunk and hearing the car beep.

He easily made it to the front of his apartment building, sighing as he looked at the stairs. “Jesus fuck, are you kidding me?”

“You’ve got such a mouth on you, young man!” 

Minho looked up to see Mr. Lee, the building owner.

“Oh, like you’re much better.” Minho said, starting up the stairs with a frustrated groan.

“Need help?” Mr. Lee asks him, staring at him as he walks up the stairs. Minho stops, and looks up at the ceiling, before looking down at Mr. Lee, sighing. The older man was carrying a trash bag out. Well, he had stopped to wait for Minho’s answer. 

“So that you can stare at my ass? No thanks.” Minho said, twisting up his face slightly. The other man sighed and started down the stairs.

“Need help?” Minho mimicked, the man simply responding with a short “Fuck off!”

Minho laughed as he ascended the staircase into the hallway, laughter echoing slightly. He unlocked and entered his apartment with minor difficulty, trying hard not to trip over his roommate’s shoes, knowing Hyunjin would kill him if he scuffed any of the other’s Gucci items.

“Ah, what are you now, a house husband?”

The unfamiliar voice made Minho jump, the man dropping a few bags. He whipped around to see…

...oh.

“Fuck you.” Minho spat, closing his eyes. “You scared me.”

“You’re a hitman. Why the hell would I scare you?” The playful grin the other sent his way was infuriating.

“No one breaks into my house. Pick up those groceries.” Minho didn’t answer him, setting his groceries on the counter, Jaebum groaning slightly but going to the fallen groceries, picking them up.

“Beetroot? Tomato?” Jaebum raised an eyebrow. “What are you making, Borscht?”

“Borscht is good.” Minho said with a sigh. “Not tonight though, I have a date.” He said, turning around and wiggling his eyebrows slightly.

“A date?” Jinyoung asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, a date.”

“How’d you meet?” Jaebum asked, mildly uninterested. Minho frowned, but didn’t comment on it, just happy the other was helping him with his groceries in the first place. Minho didn’t respond at first, waiting for the other to put the green onions in the fridge.

“Well...” Minho trailed off. “It was a little bit of an intimate meeting for our first meeting ever.” He said, chuckling a little nervously. Jaebum looked up from where he was sorting out the groceries, giving Minho a deadpan expression.

“You fucked first?”

“He’s too nice for a one-night stand. I even made him breakfast.” Minho said, not meeting the other’s eyes. 

“So then you asked for a date!?” 

“And his number. He’s very cute by the way.”

“He won’t get in the way of your job, will he?” Jaebum asked, sighing and continuing to sort the groceries.

“Well…” Minho gave a sheepish grin.

Jaebum paused again, looking up. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, holding the bridge of his nose. “Lee Minho, what the actual hell did you do?”

“Nothing! ...Yet. Probably nothing in the future. I don’t know about that one yet.” Minho said, chewing his lip slightly. “Just, you know...he may or may not be...a detective.”

“A...detective?”

“Yes. And then I looked him up after he gave me his number, and he  _ lives _ with his partner-”

“I don’t think that’s the problem here-”

“I’ll be fine.” Minho said, voice suddenly dropping into hushed whispers. “I know what I’m doing.” He smiled, but it seemed almost slightly deranged. Jaebum raised an eyebrow, before sighing. “Fine. I can’t stop you from that. You realize they will be on my ass over this, right?” Jaebum asked, putting what groceries he could away. He reached for a wine bottle, but Minho shook his head. “That will stay out. It’s for my date tonight.”

Jaebum retracted his hand, sighing.

“Besides.” Minho continued. “I don’t feel sympathy for you. I don’t even know who they are. Just that I work for them. Which leads me to my next question…” Minho paused what he was doing, looking up. “Why are you here?”

Jaebum reached into his coat, pulling out an envelope that was thick. Minho snatched it without a moment’s hesitation.

“What’s this?”

“Extra bonus. For you and Hyunjin. You two are awfully messy together, but you did get it done quickly, so, bonus.”

Minho opened the envelope, quickly splitting the money in half, raising his eyebrows as he took out two gift cards.

“Onion Cafe or Jean Frigo?” Minho asked, reading off each card.

“Hyunjin has Jean Frigo.” Jaebum answered.

“Cool.” Minho threw the cards on the table, sighing.

He opened a cabinet for a wine glass, glancing at Jaebum. The older man shook his head, giving a polite smile. “I should be heading back. I have some things to wrap up.”

“Hm. Things.” Minho said, grabbing a different, already open bottle of wine, and pouring some into his glass, leaving the top off.

“Things.” Jaebum repeated, rolling his eyes. They settled on the suitcase, and he scoffed. “Nice suitcase.” He said. 

“Hm?” Minho looked down, laughing a bit. “Oh, yes, the suitcase. I’ll be decorating it soon.

“Of course you will be.” Jaebum said, sighing. “Nice blazer.” He commented, Minho looking down. Hm, he forgot he changed.

“Thank you. It’s for tonight.”

Jaebum was already halfway out of his apartment. “Don’t do something stupid!” He yelled back, front door open.

“Oh, when do I ever? You doubt me too much.” Minho said with a smile, taking a sip of his wine as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

  
  
  


Chan rushed through his room in a panic. He had to leave his apartment in roughly 30-40 minutes if he wanted to be on time for his date, and he was not at all prepared. He felt slightly on edge. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been on a date in  _ awhile _ . He wasn’t joking when he said people tended to leave after they heard about Chan’s son. The fact that Minho was still willing to get with him this early in their relationship was speaking volumes.

“Seungmin!” He called, poking his head out of the bedroom.

“What!?”

“I need help, please! I don’t know what to wear!”

“You are a middle aged man, Channie. Figure it out!”

“Seungmin!”

After hearing what was definitely his son and niece’s giggles, he heard Seungmin coming down the hall before he saw him, the slightly younger man looking mildly irritated at the fact that he had to get up and help Chan.

“Why doesn’t Changbin help you?”

“Do you see some of the shit Changbin wears? He looks like a protester from the 90s. I’m trying to go on a date not get arrested.” Chan said, ushering his younger brother into his room.

“That’s...a fair way of putting it.” Seungmin said with a grimace. He then looked at the clothes on the bed. “Oh, why don’t you wear those? They seem slightly out of character but that blouse is nice-”

“I just washed those. I’m returning them, they aren’t mine.” Chan said, sighing. “Everything in my closet is black. Or grey. I sure as hell do not own a baby blue blouse. Or any plaid that would be that bright.”

“Ah, right. You never left your goth phase.”

“I was not goth.” Chan said, sounding slightly pained as he spoke.

“I dunno, you fooled me with the platform boots you owned. And wore everywhere. And that old leather jacket. With the buttons-”

“Please do not bring up anything you just mentioned. I got nearly beat up- and also that was in college. And High school.”

“Dad wore platforms? I wanna see-” Chan whipped around to see Jisung poking his head in the doorway.

“Dad never wore a skirt. Everything your uncle says is a lie.” Chan quickly told him, but it was no use, Ryujin was right behind Jisung, already speaking. “No! Dad told me that Uncle Chan was in one of those punk bands. Like, full on played an instrument.”

“Oh.” Jisung paused, then nodded. “Like the instrument in the office? With the stickers on it?”

“It’s a guitar, and that’s not mine, that’s Changbin’s. Please, go bother Changbin.” Chan said, looking more pained as the conversation progressed. 

“Absolutely not!” Jisung said gleefully, entering the room and making his father’s bed his personal sofa, sitting on it comfortably and laying back. “So, what’s your boyfriend’s name?” Jisung asked, turning to his dad. Ryujin snorted, simply standing by her dad, who had seemed to take a vow of silence up until that moment, murmuring, “Yes, I’d like to know too.”

“His name is Minho. And we are not dating... _ yet _ . We’re going on a date.” Chan said, trying to push his teenager off his bed. He failed miserably, flopping on the bed instead.

“I dated a Minho once.” Seungmin said, taking a sip from his wine glass, looking at the floor bitterly. “He was a piece of shit.”

“Language!” Chan, Jisung, and Ryujin chorused, Seungmin sighing. “I can’t wait for when you two are adults.”

“I’ll still say it just to mess with you.” Ryujin said, snorting.

“Okay, kids, while it is nice to have you both just in my room asking me randomly invasive questions, I have a date. And that requires me getting dressed.” Chan said, groaning as he pushed himself up, sighing. He looked at his watch, letting his brain do the little math he could focus on before his eyes widened, realizing he had now around 20 minutes. “Shit! Seungmin-”

“Language!”

  
  
  


Minho liked to be early to things. No matter what, even if he looked awful, at least he would look awful and on time. He had already entered the hotel lobby, checking the time. 6:25 pm. He looked around the surprisingly crowded lobby, humming to himself. His eyes landed on Chan, the man holding two small gift bags. He knew one of them probably had his clothes in it. Chan was thoughtful, and Minho appreciated the gesture very much.

He was wearing plain black dress pants and a matching blazer, opting for a nice thin shirt underneath. Combat boots- that’s a weird way to style them, but it worked, Chan looking nice as he walked through the lobby, looking around before pulling out his phone.

Oh, yeah.

“Channie!~” Minho called out, waving his hand. Chan looked up automatically, looking around for a few moments before seeing Minho and smiling.

He lightly jogged over, bowing his head slightly. “Sorry if I was late, I just got a little tied up before I left my house.” He said, chuckling.

“Ah! No, please, you’re early. You look really good, by the way.” Minho complimented, Chan laughing a little awkwardly. “You too. I really like your blazer.” Chan said, Minho looking down. He grinned, smiling. “Well, should we go up?” He asked, holding out his hand. Chan stared at it for a moment in confusion, before he realized what the other was doing.

“Ah!” He clasped their hands together, chuckling again. Minho laughed. Chan looked like a gleeful child getting a phone for the first time. Excited, but nervous. It was cute.

“Let’s go then!” Chan said, leading the pair to the elevators, humming as he pressed the button. “We can exchange presents once we sit down.” He said, Minho nodding. “Sounds good.”

  
  
  
  


“So, what do you do for a living?” Chan asked Minho, Minho watching Chan like he did the morning after their first meeting, elbows propped on the table as he supported his chin with his hands intertwined, looking at Chan fondly. “Ah, I’m a translator.” Minho said, chuckling. “It requires me to go on trips a lot since I’m the type to do presentations or business meetings.” He said, Chan nodding and giving a little ‘ah’ in recognition. “What languages?” Chan asked curiously, taking a sip of his glass of water. He had wine poured for him, he just hadn’t touched it. The price of a restaurant like this was kind of intimidating, even if Minho had promised that he would pay for it over and over again.

“My biggest ones I get requested for are English and Korean. Hmm...but I also can legally translate in Japanese, Mandarin, and Arabic. I know bits and pieces of a few others, but I grew up speaking them, so it’s not quite the same.” Minho said with a shrug, chuckling as he sipped his wine.

“Korean? So you weren’t born in Korea?” Chan asked, slightly surprised. “I wasn’t either. I was born in Australia. Sydney.” He said, chuckling slightly.

“Ah, no, I was born in Russia.” Minho said with a small smile. “I couldn’t tell you where, because my family quickly moved after, to France. That’s where I met Hyunjin.” Minho said. He could see the confusion on Chan’s face.

“My roommate who complained about breakfast?” Minho asked. Chan nodded, laughing a little as he recognized who the other was talking about. “I remember him. He’s funny.” 

“So he is.”

“You grew up together?”

“Kind of.” Minho smiled. “My mom wanted to stay in France, but my dad hated it there, so I would go between their two houses. Until eventually I graduated college in Moscow. I got a job offer here, and so…” Minho gestured slightly, sighing. “Talked to Hyunjin about it. We moved. That’s it basically.”

“Wow.” Chan said with a smile. “That’s nice. I didn’t meet Changbin until after my brother and I moved here. But we’ve still been friends since highschool, so he's like a second brother to me I guess. Oh, do you know Russian? My son speaks a bit. Reads it better. He wants to be a translator for things like books and comics.”

“Oh, really?” Minho raised his eyebrows, smiling. “How sweet. I hope I meet your son sometime. Maybe we could practice.” 

Chan laughed, nodding. “Hm. Maybe.”

“Do you live with your brother as well?” Minho asked, curious.

“No, no.” Chan laughed awkwardly. “We originally were going to- and I mean, he and his daughter, Ryujin, come over all the time, they basically already live with us, but we decided it would be better to let Jisung and Ryujin have their spaces to themselves. Since they’re teenagers and all, they probably wouldn’t get along well if they lived in the same house. Besides, Seungmin prefers having quiet moments to himself, and I don’t think he’d really get that with me, Changbin, or my son living with him.” Chan said with a nervous laugh.

“Ah, understandable. I feel bad for my other roommate sometimes, Felix? He has to deal with me and Hyunjin all the time.”

“I assume Felix isn’t from Korea either?” Chan said, sipping his water again.

“No, no.” Minho chuckled gently. “He’s actually… kind of like a son I guess? Not really, but he’s so young. He just turned 21 recently.”

“Oh wow. How did that even happen?” Chan asked, raising his eyebrows. He looked shocked. Understandably so.

“I can’t go into detail about it, but his family are assholes. He’s super super smart though. Managed to get a job even while underaged. I’m surprised he even made it this long, he only moved in with us after he turned 20.”

“Huh, that’s insane.” Chan said, with a surprised chuckle.

“Mm, yeah.” Minho nodded, before looking down at their bags. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He set the bag on the table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I figured I should get you a basic present of some sort, I hope you like it.”

“Oh!” Chan smiled, before bending down and grabbing his own bags. “This one is just your clothes back, I already washed them, don’t worry, and this…” He trailed off a little as he pushed the bag over. “Is a bracelet. I’m unoriginal, sorry.”

Minho chuckled, peeking into the bags. “Don’t worry. I love jewelry, so you got me a good present, yeah?” He said, smiling. Chan gasped lightly as he looked in the bag. “Oh, my brother loves this kind of wine.” He said with a laugh. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t let him drink all of it, okay?” Minho joked. “Some of it is for you too.”

“Mmm. Of course, I’ll put a sticky note on it.”

Minho laughed, closing the little jewelry box that had the silver bracelet inside. “Foolproof plan.” He said, shaking his head slightly.

  
  
  


The date night ends with them taking their time as they make their way back to the parking lot, strolling at a leisurely pace. They’re in a comfortable silence, Chan enjoying the slight wind picking up and dim lights, while Minho finds himself looking at the stars, letting Chan navigate him slightly every time he risks tripping or walking into something.

“So.” Minho eventually breaks the silence. “I take it this date went well?”

“Yes.” Chan sounds perfectly content with their dinner date. “It went great.” He hummed.

Minho laughed slightly, leaning his head against Chan’s shoulder. It was slightly awkward, because he was the taller one out of the two of them, but eh, you take what you can get. At that point, they had started back towards the parking garage, Chan moving consistently, so as to not make Minho too uncomfortable as they walked like this.

“So.” Chan starts again. “Another date at some point, maybe?”

“Hm, when were you thinking?” Minho asked.

“I’m busy all week, but maybe sometime after?”

“It might have to be next weekend, if that’s okay with you. I’ll be out of town this weekend and next week on a business trip.” Minho said, sighing.

“Oh?” Chan asked, humming slightly. “Next weekend would be nice. I think I’m free then, but I’ll text you if I’m not.”

“Alright, that sounds good.” In the near distance, Minho can see his car parked. He sighed, detaching himself from Chan. “Unfortunately, I think this is where we part ways.”

“Hmm. Unfortunately.” Neither could stop themselves from smiling at each other.

“Next weekend?” Chan asks, in a near whisper.

“Next weekend.” Minho confirms, leaving a few brief kisses on the other man’s jaw. “I look forward to it.” He said, moving back.

“...yeah. Me too.” Chan said, Minho laughing. “Goodnight Channie.”

“Goodnight. Get home safe.” He said, Minho already at his car.

“Of course I will! You do too, okay?” Minho said, smiling and waving. Chan gave a satisfied nod and walked off to find his own car.

...shit.

Where did he park his car?

  
  
  


When Chan gets home, it’s late enough that almost all lights are off, save for the front door light. He sees the kids passed out in front of the coffee table and TV, homework and textbooks unceremoniously splayed across the table and floor while some zombie movie plays, volume low. Changbin must be sleeping- he’s a real life old man, and he doesn’t like being too off schedule.

“How was your date?” Seungmin asked from the hallway, yawning loudly as he set down a cup of tea.

“It was good.” Chan tells him, making sure to whisper as he sets his gift on the counter. “I got some wine. It’s your favourite I think. How were the kids?”

“They were fine. Jisung’s a little quieter than usual, but- ah, that’s to be expected.” Seungmin said with a sigh. “God, their school makes me so pissed sometimes.” He grumbled.

“Understandably so.” Chan sighed, his own frustration with Jisung’s school temporarily resurfacing.

“We’ll get it sorted out. If it means we sue, then we sue.” Chan quietly put a blanket over Jisung and Ryujin, knowing that if the two were anything like their fathers, they got cold easily.

“Hmm. We might.” Seungmin said, taking quiet sips of his tea. “Well, I’m gonna crash in your guest room. Tomorrow is a work from home kind of day anyways. I can drive Jisung and Ryujin, if you need me to?”

“I don’t want Jisung to go to school tomorrow.” Chan confessed. “I’m gonna call him in sick.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Channie.”

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twt @danbaihe

**Author's Note:**

> twt @danbaihe don't be shy to hmu


End file.
